Coolio to Chill in L.A. Jail

Coolio will do time for charges stemming from his arrest last September on gun charges. It just won't be that much time.

In Shawshank Redemption terms, Coolio (the birth certificate says Artis Leon Ivey Jr.) will hardly have a chance to become "institutionalized," let alone dig a big tunnel--he was only sentenced to 10 days in L.A. County Jail.

The rapper pleaded guilty Wednesday in Torrance Superior Court to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, a felony in its own right. In addition to his short jail stay, the 35-year-old performer was also placed on two years' probation and sentenced to 40 hours of community service (just so you know who that guy with the orange vest and the funny hair on the side of the freeway is).

Coolio, who had a previous conviction in 1994 for carrying a loaded weapon in his vehicle, must finish his jail time by September 7.

Last September, Coolio was arrested in suburban Lawndale, California (just southwest of L.A.), for driving his Hummer on the wrong side of the road, while in possession of the gun and a small amount of pot. Oh, he also had an expired driver's license, just in case the cops weren't sure they wanted to haul him to the station.

But better Lawndale than Düsseldorf: the rapper--a Grammy winner for his "Gangsta's Paradise" tune--was sentenced to six months' probation and fined $17,000 in Germany last December for shoplifting.